


And My Heart Will Falter

by JakeGodOfMischief



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, temporary character death?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:21:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JakeGodOfMischief/pseuds/JakeGodOfMischief
Summary: Tony lost the love of his life, to which he spirals back into drinking. The only way he will feel better is if he joins Stephen. Or is it?
Relationships: Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 25
Kudos: 29





	1. Til Death Do Us Part

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I am back at it again with some sad multiple chapter fanfic. Do I regret this? Not at all. This story is killing my heart as I am working on this. I hope you enjoy the read.

Tony wasn't sure how it happened; this wasn't supposed to happen. At least not like this. They were supposed to live together and die together. Lady Luck wasn't on his side, and now, the genius was questioning if she ever really was. He lost the love of his life and the one person he cared for the most. If you asked Tony, he would tell you that Lady Luck was laughing at him, and had been laughing at him since. He would say to you that she was laughing since it happened and to rub salt into the wound and make it worse, today was no day for a funeral. Today it was too sunny and bright, and it was more fit for a wedding or a picnic in the park, anything that would express happiness. Not for a day that was to be sad and full of sorrow.

"-Tony."

Tony looked up from where he had fixated on for a long time. The now covered hole that now contained the body of his lover. The man that he thought that he was going to spend the rest of his own life, but now wasn't going to be able to. He looked at where the voice was coming from only to be greeted by Rhodey, his best friend, who looked just as upset as he was. Tony stared for a moment before finally clearing his throat.

"Hey, Platypus. Sorry, I didn't catch what you said." He quietly admitted, feeling just a little guilty for not doing so.

"I'm sorry for your loss. If you want to talk about it, I hope you know that we are all here for you." The other man repeated, slightly motioning to the small group of people standing around to mourn the loss of Doctor Stephen Strange. Tony didn't make this event some massive extravagant thing as he did with most things. No, this was small, and only a tiny handful of people that both himself and Stephen truly trusted and loved were here. He didn't think it was fair for Stephen to have been giving a funeral that more than half of New York showed up for, this wasn't one of his galas, this wasn't a party. It was the loss of the love of his life. "I'm okay. I don't want to talk about it. Not yet, at least." Tony said and looked down as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He took a deep breath and looked up once more. "I'm going to head home, thanks for coming, I appreciate it." He said and began walking away from everyone.

* * *

Tony had lost count of how many days it had been since he had left his house. He stopped counting after an hour into being alone. All the genius knew was he was surrounded by memories of Stephen and their life together. He had stopped counting how many bottles of alcohol he had finished on his own and how many times he had thrown up only to curl up on Stephen's side of the bed. Tony had forgotten how many times someone called to check up on him, his phone lost at some point, and not having the will to try to find it again.

Tony was sitting on the couch, curled up under a blanket, watching E.T. Extra-Terrestrial, or at least letting it play to keep the now empty house only full of the ghosts of memories from being too quiet, while he down his fifth bottle of scotch.

"The great Tony Stark, downing his problems with, what is it this time, scotch?" Came a voice, all too familiar to Tony's ears, the sound of the man who would whisper the sweetest of nothings in the darkness of night. Tony looked around the room, blinking tired eyes as he tried to figure out where the sound came from, only to come up short for an answer. He pulled the blanket closer to himself away.

"I thought you gave up on drinking?" Tony bit his tongue and closed his eyes tightly, holding onto the blanket tighter as he took another drink. "Put the alcohol down, you know it's not going to help you. You need to deal with whatever it is that you are dealing with properly. Heal from it. Booze will not help you." The voice continued, as Tony let tears fall from his eyes. "What do you expect to accomplish by drinking? Why are you drowning yourself in literal poison, Anthony?"

Tony choked on tears as he slowly opened his eyes again. "Why, my love? It won't help you." The voice spoke up again. "You're not real. You're not here." Tony muttered as he closed his eyes once again, drinking the small amount that was left if the bottle. "And what makes you sure that I am not real?" The voice, Stephen's voice, asked sounding just as unimpressed as it did the day that they met. Tony shook his head just a bit as he grabbed the T.V. remote so he could turn up the volume and drown out the noise. It was all just in his head, nothing more, only the ghosts of the past.

"Drinking isn't going to help you heal, and you know that." Tony bit his tongue to the point it bled, only to throw the blanket off and glare at the spot in front of him. "Shut up, shut the fuck up!" He screamed as he tossed the now empty bottle across the room, staring at where it had hit the wall. He took long hard deep breaths, trying to calm himself down as tears fell from his eyes.

"I know that drinking isn't going to help. I am aware." Tony muttered between small hiccups. No response came this time. The genius looked around the room for a moment before finally getting up. He went to get the broom and dustpan, sweeping up the shattered glass and threw it away. He sat down by the trashcan in the kitchen, taking a long deep breath. "You don't need to remind me that it won't help, I'm just feeling done."

"Done with what, I don't know everything." He admitted as he pressed his head against the wall, the movie still playing in the background, filling the void of silence. It took Tony what felt like years to get back up and walk to the living room. He stared at the T.V. with tired eyes before turning it off once he sat down. He ended up laying down, curled up into a ball.

* * *

Tony woke up to being shock awake. He loudly groaned as he blinked away the tiredness from his own eyes as he stared at the back of the couch. The shaking just made the genius somewhat half tempted to punch at the air, and whoever thought it was a good idea to wake him up at this time. He gritted his teeth before turning to look at who was shaking him. "Hey, Tones, glad to see you're alive and still somewhat kicking," Rhodey said, grinning sheepishly at his friend.


	2. With A Thousand Endings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, hope I didn't make you all wait too long. After I posted the first chapter, I started working on the second, had to take a small pause to gather my thoughts and figure out where to go.

"Why are you here?" Tony asked as he stared into the coffee cup that Rhodey had so graciously made for him after a rather rude awakening from sleep, holding it close to his chest, in hopes that it would keep himself safe from whatever judgment that was going to come from his best friend.

"JARVIS called." Rhodey began, taking a drink from his coffee mug. "Plus, you haven't been answering calls or texts. We have been friends for how long? I know when you are hurting, and I know when you need someone. I don't want you to spiral. Not again, not this time. I understand that the loss of Stephen is hard. It's hard on a lot of people, Tony. But it's harder for you, and I am not taking that away from you." The Colonel stated as he looked over Tony for a moment. "You need to talk to someone about this, and shutting everyone out isn't going to help."

Tony winced slightly at the statement. He knew that is wasn't going to help; he just didn't want to ask for help or even be bothered. "Do you even know what day it is?" Rhodey asked, breaking the silence when Tony hadn't spoken. "Monday? Tony finally spoke up, looking at the man he had known for so long. He watched Rhodey go completely stone white. "Do you know what month it is?"

Tony just shook his head, looking back down at his coffee. "Tones, it's Friday, it's been two months since I last saw you, you know where I saw you last? At Stephen's funeral. Everyone is worried about you." Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose and took a long deep breath. "Tony, I'm not saying get back out there, I am not saying that you need to talk about everything, I am just saying, let people be there for comfort, we care about you." The Colonel said and watched Tony, who just stared into the mug. "Go take a shower, freshen up, maybe shave? Put some new clothes on?" He continued calmly. Tony nodded and got up, heading towards his room after a couple of minutes.

* * *

Tony stared at the mirror for a while before looking down into the sink. He took a long deep breath. "Hey, J, start the shower." He muttered before rubbing his face carefully. He reached over and grabbed his razor, beginning to shave carefully.

"You know, you've always had the prettiest eyes and the best smile. You could never lie about how you felt. At least not to those that truly care for you."

Damn that voice. Tony was starting to hate hearing it. That wasn't true. He missed it, and the comforting, shaking hands that would accompany the voice. He yearned to feel those lips that would spew sweet nothings to him late at night, and tell him how wonderful he was, that would say to him that he was a gift, a treasure. Most of all, he mourned the loss of the one person that he loved. "Why do you do this to yourself, dear? Why do you keep trying to push everyone away?" The voice asked as Tony pulled the razor away from his face. He looked around for a moment before finally looking into the mirror.

"So that I can hurt fewer people when I am finally gone. So I can be with you once again." Tony said as he looked down into the sink. He swallowed thickly as he gently ran his finger against the wedding band on his finger. He took a long deep breath. "God, I miss you, Steph." The genius let tears fall from his eyes, blurring his vision. "I don't want to be without you. I need you. But you had left, and you had to leave me alone. Why? Why couldn't you have stayed?" He asked, nearly shouting into the sink, gasping and hiccuping as more tears fell. "I need answers too, Stephen. You can't just die on someone."

"Tony, sweetheart, I didn't leave you on purpose, I would never do that, not intentionally." Tony just pressed his hands to his eyes, pushing hard until he saw spots. "You're an asshole, Stephen Vincent Strange. An asshole." Tony said as more tears began to flow. "I know, I am an asshole, I made the last day of us being together be one of the best days, only to leave. And I am sorry."

Tony stared at the mirror before finally doing a rushed job of shaving his face before getting into the shower. It was a more extended shower than he intended it to be, he only meant to be in for a few minutes but ended up breaking down, and sitting on the floor of the shower, curled up. The genius sat there as the last day that they were together played over and over in his head. Tony just ended up curling into a tight ball, even more, hugging his knees. When he finally got out, he didn't feel any better than what he did before.

* * *

After Tony got dressed, he went to the living room to find Rhodey still sitting there, texting away. "Oh, you're still around? Damn thought you would have left by now." Tony attempted to joke, which only fell flat to being more sarcastic than anything. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down. "Sorry," The genus said when he noticed the slight unamused look on his best friend's face.

"Yes, I am still here, Tony. I am not planning on leaving unless it is with you following me out. So go put on some shoes so we can get something to eat." Rhodey said and stood up, walking towards the door.

"Or, better yet, we can say fuck that, you leave, and I will stay here and sleep some more." Tony offered only to lift his hands in defense. "Okay, okay. I am coming." He said, walking to get a pair of shoes on, staring at the second pair that once belonged to Stephen. He took a long deep breath as he picked them up and moving them into the closet. He then finished putting his shoes on and followed after Rhodey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know your thoughts about this. I love constructive criticism and would like to make this better for you all. I know what is going to happen, so I hope you stick through this one and continue to read.  
> Also, a special shout out to my wife (not my wife, I just love her so much, sue me). Thank you for helping me through some thoughts on where to take this. I love you, Roxy!! <3


	3. Don't Look Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter. This chapter will contain Stephen's last day with Tony. Oops. Please note that this is going to be the longest chapter so far. Am I kind of sorry? Not really.

_"Good morning, my wonderful lover," Stephen whispered against Tony's temple before plating a small and gentle kiss there. He reached up with shaky hands to push some hair away from Tony's head, watching him calmly. He just idly played with the genius's hair as best as he could._

_"I think there should be a rule against waking up this early in the morning. It's a crime, Stephen, I have just declared this." Tony grumbled as he moved a hand to push Stephen away. He rolled over onto his side, pulling the blankets up over himself, hiding away from view, and pushed Stephen away playfully with his feet. He then moved closer towards him, wrapping his arms around his lover. "Wake me up in like two? Yeah, two hours." And with that, Tony quickly went back to sleep. "Alright, my love, get some more sleep, you need it," Stephen said, smiling down at him sadly._

* * *

Tony and Rhodey walked towards a small restaurant. It was a hole in the wall little joint that they had found when they were at MIT. They would go together after classes were over to get dinner. As they entered the building, they, or well, Rhodey smiled, and greeted the staff. They got their usual table. They both ordered waters as they got menus.

* * *

_"Alright, you got two more hours, more than what we both need, time to get up, Anthony. We need to eat breakfast." Stephen encouraged as he carefully extracted himself from Tony's boa constrictor like hold on him. When that didn't work, Stephen just laughed and shuffled to pick up Tony as he got up. "You know, this is going to hurt my hands. Please get up, so I don't get hurt and or yourself." Stephen said and kissed Tony's cheek._

_"A better way to wake up your husband would have been by a blow job. I would accept that more than being moved around." Tony said as he held on even tighter, only letting go when he felt Stephen poke as his sides as he could with his hands holding onto Tony. Wait. Did he have more hands? That made sense for some reason, Stephen was sorcerer supreme, there were just some things that made sense about Stephen the longer that someone knew him. "Magic is cheating!" Tony laughed as he stood up._

_"I know, Anthony. I love you. Let's go get some food in our stomachs then take a shower." Stephen said and leaned down, kissing Tony's lips, who eagerly kissed back._

* * *

"Tony, you need to eat," Rhodey spoke up when he noticed that the food that Tony had ordered was hardly touched. He placed his fork down and leaned his elbow against the table, then rested his head in his hand. "Please eat." He said, a little worry in his voice.

Tony looked up and nodded once, eating a little more. At least it was something, Rhodey guessed.

* * *

_"So, what are your plans for today?" Stephen asked as he watched Tony eat, smiling at him. He began to eat a few bites himself of food._

_"Not much as far as I am aware. I think just going to work on some things for the suit. What about you? Tony asked around a large mouth full of food, looking up at his husband, who was taking his time eating. Stephen just shrugged slightly and smiled. "Well, I don't have too many plans other than spending the day with you, Wong said that he would take care of anything that came up at the sanctum." He said and leaned forward a bit._

_Tony paused as he was bringing the mug of coffee to his lips, bringing his eyebrows together in thought. "And why is that, Steph, you are usually spending your days at the sanctum...? Is something happening? Hey, J, am I missing an anniversary today?" Tony asked, setting the mug down onto the table, looking at Stephen then up at the ceiling before looking back at his lover._

_Stephen just shook his head and smiled as gently as he could. "No, not forgetting an anniversary, Tony. I figured that I would spend the day with you, take a day off of being Sorcerer Supreme, and just be Stephen Strange, Tony Stark's husband. I don't just take a day to spend with you." The good doctor told him, smiling a bit more. "Unless, of course, there is a new law out there that one can not spend time with their lover? Did I just not get the memo. That's a bummer. I will just have to break the law for you, Anthony." He said jokingly. Tony just shook his head quickly, almost giving himself whiplash. "No! I want to spend time with you! Wait, would you break the law for me?" Tony asked, blinking slightly._

_"At this point, I have broken many laws in the mystic arts for you, so yes, I would and have in multiple timelines_ _too." He said with a shrug._

* * *

Tony stared at the box of leftover food that was sitting in his lap. He took a long deep breath before looking up and out the window, staring at the world around them as they drove. "Do you remember the day that your mom died?" Rhodey finally broke the silence. "You couldn't give two shits about Howard, hell you couldn't even give one shit about him, but Maria, you shut down for almost five months. Please, don't do that again, we were worried about you because we care about you. We want you to be happy, and I get it. You are grieving about the loss of someone important to you. The grieving period is different for everyone. I just don't want to lose you and see you spiral and hurt yourself somehow." The colonel said as they passed a small park.

* * *

_"So, do you break some kind of laws for me?" Tony asked, looking over at Stephen after a while of just watching people in the park. They were close together, Tony's head against Stephen's chest, will the good doctor had an arm around him, holding him protectively. They were under a small tree that provided enough shade to keep them from overheating. Stephen looked down at Tony and just gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "That would be classified." He said, smiling at him._

_"Oh, I see," Tony muttered, looking down at his lap. "Wait! You're an ass that wouldn't be classified information, and even if it were, you would have still told me." Tony said, turning towards Stephen a little and gently swatted his arm without any real fire behind it. Stephen laughed softly and leaned down, kissing Tony's head. He moved his hands to rub his sides gently. "Yes, I have probably broken some laws, and I have messed with your timeline more times than I can count. You have just been reckless that I worry about you." Stephen kissed Tony's forehead and stood up._

_The excellent doctor held out his hand towards Tony, offering him help up."I have done the things that I have done to keep you safe, and I do not regret any of them because I would do them over again in a heartbeat, and would do them over again in other timelines. That's how much you mean to me. Don't ever think that I don't love you because I love you with all my heart and soul. I would do anything for you. I hope you know that." Stephen said as they began to walk._

* * *

"Could this have been my fault? Should I have not slept that night?" Tony asked, looking over at his best friend as they sat in the office at Stark industries. Tony was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, the lack of sleep clear in his face as he just continued to look up. The genus didn't bother to look over as Rhodey, who was supporting a slightly concerned look on his face. Tony began to pick at his cuticle, as he turned played the day over and over in his head. "I mean, I could have done something, couldn't I? I could have stopped whatever happened from happening if only I were awake." Tony said, reaching up and rubbing his face.

"No, I don't think you could have, Tony. I don't believe that you would have been able to stop it from happening, and no, I also don't think that if you did something different that day, it would have prevented Stephen from dying. I know that information is hard to swallow, but you didn't know. You had no idea it would have happened. Just like I didn't know that Ten Rings was going to kidnap you." Rhodey said as he stopped working for a moment. "The point is, we don't know that these things are going to happen in our life, and we need to accept them and heal." The colonel said as Tony rolled over onto his stomach, pressing his face against the armrest of the couch. "Maybe talk to Wong about it." He offered.

* * *

_"You know, I love you more than anything in this world, right, Tony?" Stephen asked as the two were getting ready for bed. They had spent most of the day doing small errands and jumping from one dimension to another. Tony had his toothbrush in his mouth when Stephen spoke, pulling it out, he looked up and smiled happily up at the other. "Of course, I know that you love me, and I know that you know that I love you," Tony said as he began to brush his teeth once again, humming softly to himself._

_Tony spat out the remaining of the toothpaste, before leaning up, planting a sweet and gentle kiss to Stephen's lips. Stephen wrapped an arm around Tony's waist, pulling him in close, holding onto his hips. "You are lovely, and I am so glad that I can call you mine, I wouldn't trade your love for the world," Stephen said and pushed some hair out of Tony's face, smiling a bit more. He pulled them both towards the room, keeping his hands on Tony's waist. When they got to bed, Stephen had already waved a hand to pull the covers down._

_Tony smiled and laughed, shaking his head at him. "You are pretty strange if you ask me, but you are also gorgeous, and I love you." He laughed as he climbed into the massive bed, curling up against Stephen's side._

_Stephen began to pet Tony's hair when they both got comfortable gently, kissing as his temple. "If I am strange, wouldn't that also make you strange, considering that we are married." The sorcerer said, winking at the other before laughing. He ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes._

_"I would say that I hate you for that, but I don't." Tony countered before pulling the blankets around them both tightly. "J, turn off the lights, please, and thank you," Tony said and closed his eyes. "I know you don't. If you did, you wouldn't have married me, and that would be a little sad. It would be sad if you also pitty married me." Stephen said as he watched Tony slowly fall asleep._

_"Can you do me a favor and shush and go to sleep? It has been a long day, and someone thought it was a good idea to wake me up early this morning." Tony said, reaching up, patting Stephen's face blindly. "I'll see you in the morning. I love you." He said and tilted his head to give him one last kiss before finally falling asleep, missing the sad look on Stephen's face._

_"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning." He said with sadness laced in his voice when he knew that Tony was asleep, staring at the clock. He looked back down at Tony and sighed heavily, holding onto Tony tightly as he closed his eyes._

* * *

When Tony got home late at night, he did his nightly routine, brushed his teeth half-heartedly, washed his face, before finally climbing into bed, not caring that he was going to fall asleep in his day clothes. Tony had curled up on Stephen's side of the bed, staring at the wall, small tears fell from his eyes as he gently pressed a hand against the pillow. "I'll see you in the morning. I love you." Tony said to himself in the darkness of the room, closing his eyes. He felt the tears flow just a little harder as he laid there before sleep finally overcame him.

* * *

_"I'm a little surprised that you didn't wake-" Tony began but stopped short when he realized one of two things, Stephen felt colder than what he usually did, and two, he didn't hear a heartbeat. Tony shot up and double-checked Stephen's pulse._

_"Steph? Stephen?" Tony shook Stephen's shoulder, hoping against hope that Stephen wasn't dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot quicker than the last one to post. I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for your tears. I thrive on them. Note for my wife Roxy: If you didn't cry, even if it was a little, I am going to be a little upset with myself.


	4. Keep Your Head Down Low

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-o! This story's not over, nor did I forget about it., I promise! Enjoy this new chapter.

177A Bleecker Street, New York City, New York. Greenwich Village.

Tony hated everything that had to do with this building. All the memories that were infesting inside. It was like someone was taking a knife to his heart and stabbing it right inside. The pain of it felt like someone was slowly twisting it, making everything hurt, and the only thing on his mind was to run, leave before he faced the memories that resided inside. He knew that he needed to go inside; he needed to talk to Wong. But the thought of going inside hurt more than he would like to admit.

Tony stood there for a few more minutes before finally knocking on the doors. He held his breath as he waited. It didn't take long for the doors to open, and when they did, Tony stood there dumbfounded, staring into the main entrance. As the genus took a step inside, he looked around and cleared his throat, walking in just a little more until the doors closed behind him. He jumped a little, looking behind himself before looking around a little more.

He began walking more in-depth into the sanctum, listening to his footsteps fill the empty building. He looked up at the second landing where the stairs ended. Tony bit his bottom lip and took a long deep breath, going up the stairs quickly as he could before heading towards the library. The deeper he went, the more he was reminded of all the times he would spend with Stephen, all the late-night talks that they would have. The halls echoed with laughter, some small screaming matches because they were both being too hot-headed to know that they were both in the wrong, which would then end up with them kissing, apologizing for their stupid mistakes, then watching movies and eating food.

Tony didn't know where his feet were taking him until he came face to face with the library. He couldn't count the number of times that they would sit inside with Tony working on some small project while Stephen either meditated or read the books that were in the library. The genius couldn't count the number of times that he'd sit with his head in Stephen's lap as he listened to the quiet of what the room provided, and the calmness that Stephen brought.

As Tony pushed the door of the library open, he held his breath and closed his eyes for a moment before walking in. He opened one eye and looked around for a second before opening both of them. "Wong?" Tony called out into the emptiness of the library. He took a few more steps in and began letting his feet take control, wandering the large room. "Hey, Wong, are you here?" He called out, again, frowning a little more as he looked around.

Wong came towards the noise with a frown on his face as he turned the corner, blinking slightly at Tony. "Oh, Tony, well, I wasn't expecting to see you. How are you doing? Is there something that I can help you with?" Wong asked as he put a book down that he was holding.

Tony looked up at Wong and moved a hand to rub the back of his neck slightly. "Yeah, uh- I was wondering if we could talk, that is if you are not busy right now?" He said and looked down for a moment. Wong stood there and watched him for a moment before nodding once. "I will go get some tea started. You can join or stay here, or in the living room." Wong said and opened a portal to the kitchen, stepping through with one Tony right behind him.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" Wong asked as he began to make some tea. He looked over at Tony, who was staying in the corner slightly, hands in his pockets and his head down. "You knew Stephen before me. You knew him while he was training." Tony began, taking a deep breath.

"That would be correct, yes," Wong calmly said as he grabbed the tea bags, and two mugs for them both. "Then what happened to him? He was fine all day, and then the next morning..." Tony trailed off, looking up at Wong, a frown set on his face, the sorrow and pain evident on his face.

"I am assuming you are referring to his death?" Wong asked, raising an eyebrow at him for a moment before sighing. "Well, there could have been a few things that could have happened, but I am pretty sure that this is more accurate if I was, to be honest, they finally decided that they wanted what he owes them," Wong said, looking at the tea mugs instead of Tony.

Tony looked up and frowned slightly. "What? Who? Okay, start from the beginning." Tony demanded. Wong just sighed and nodded. "How about I finish the tea first before we begin because the tea would take a lot quicker to make than the whole story," Wong said looking at the genius, who just nodded once and took a seat at the island in the kitchen.

Once they both had their tea and were comfortable, Wong cleared his throat and rubbed his face carefully. "He's done some things and has sold his soul multiple times. I wouldn't be surprised if they finally wanted what he had owed them. I don't know precisely what has happened. I know that he had only a small fraction of his soul left when he went to The Sinner's Market. But he offered his entire soul to this giant silver angel-like woman who was sitting on a throne for the power of a god." Wong said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told him that it wasn't a smart idea to sell his soul-" "Okay, so we go to The Sinner's Market and get his soul back," Tony said, cutting Wong off, frowning hard at the man. "It's not that simple, there are more that we would have to do to get his soul back, and even then, we can't be so sure that they would give us him back. I am not trying to rain on your parade, Tony, but I am trying to tell you that it would be rather dangerous to try and get his soul back." Wong said, before taking a long drink from his tea. "I am willing to do what it takes to get him back, if I have to die, then so be it. I want to get him back." Tony said, looking at Wong, eye pleading for the sorcerer's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Did I just do a thing? Maybe. There is a thing that happens in the comics, can you spot it? Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come soon!  
> Note for my wife Roxy: Hey, how you doing? I know you are reading this, and I love you for your help. I mean, I love as a whole, but you know. Thanks for the help, lady. <3


	5. Into The Sinner's Market

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Depression hit, and now I’m finally adding more. There was also a lot going on in my personal life. So I am sorry that it took a while to add more to this.

Wong sighed and looked at Tony, "It's not going to be easy." He said when he finished his tea. "It will be dangerous." He told him as he stood up when Tony was done with his tea, picking up the mugs and heading towards the kitchen with the genius following right behind him. Tony slightly deflated as he looked at Wong. "I want to get him back. It doesn't feel right. None of it does. He shouldn't have done it."

"No, but he did. The reasoning for it was to gain the powers of a god. Or at least as close to a god as possible." Wong informed him as he cleaned the mugs. "He did it before you knew him, and I encouraged him to fix it before you, and he got together if he was serious about being with you. I had a feeling that something would happen." He continued speaking before finally turning back to Tony, who was walking back and forth in the kitchen. "The only way to get him back would be to offer something in equal value."

"Equal value?" Tony asked, stopping his movement as he turned to look thoroughly at the man in the room with him. "So, like, what are we talking about here? Money? I have loads of that. If I have to repurchase my husband, I will. I mean it, Wong, I will pay everything that I have to to-" Wong let out a small snort of laughter, cutting Tony off of his rant. "No, no, no. Not money. More like power or a soul. Equal in value. He wanted the powers of a god, and he got them for the price of his full soul. He had played his cards right before, selling small factions of his soul. Although if you ask me, it isn't a smart idea to sell your soul."

Tony stared at Wong for a moment before rubbing his chin gently in thought. He tapped his foot before he began his match around the room once again, thinking of his options. "Not my soul, but it has to be equal in value. I have a lot of technology. I can make something that would have the powers of a mortal god." He said he continued to walk, talking to himself as he slightly stretched out his arms over his head. "What if... No, that wouldn't work. Maybe. No, it wouldn't work." Tony continued to talk to himself for a few minutes before looking at Wong and sighing softly. "I don't know what to do. Or how to get him back." He finally admitted before sitting down and running his hands through his hair. "I never thought it would be this hard to think of how to bring someone back, and all I would need to do is trade something in equal value."

Wong gave a small nod as he listened to Tony talk. "It usually is never that simple. If it were, it wouldn't be called The Sinner's Market. Those who go there want magic or magical items—those who seek out to be a be-all, end-all. Of course, that wasn't Stephen's plans. More or less, he wanted to end what was called the threats of Incursions." Wong explained as he took a seat near the genius. "Yes, he wanted to end something, but for good reasons, so he went to the Resolute Throne to-"

"Wait, I thought you said he went to The Sinner's Market?" Tony cut the other man off, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. "He did. The Resolute Throne resides inside a cube. A cube, which the cube is in The Sinner's Market." Wong explained, sighing softly. "Then where is the market?" Tony asked, rubbing his temples in annoyance. "Another dimension known as Lost Lands," Wong said and frowned slightly. "I know, it is a lot to take in and to understand, and can be a bit confusing." He said and reached over slightly to gently pat Tony's shoulder in a somewhat reassuring manner, or at least he hoped it was reassuring.

"Is there something that we could do to get him back?" Tony asked, resting his head in his hands. "This fucking sucks. There could have been something he could have done not to have to sell his soul. Isn't there?" Tony asked as he looked up. Small tears fell from his eyes as he felt more useless than he had since he had lost Stephen. The whole thing felt unreal, and any second now, the genius would wake up from a simulation, but the seconds continued to tick by, and Tony wasn't waking up. He could solve one of the most challenging math problems in minutes; Tony could make an armored suit out of scraps of metal, and get out of a cave in the middle of god damn nowhere, and make it back home. And yet, the one thing he couldn't think of was how to get something of equal value to a soul of a powerful sorcerer.

Tony pulled his head out of his hands, looking at Wong. "Power." He said and smiled slightly. "They usually want something that has to do with power or souls, correct?" He asked, then continued when he got a small nod from Wong. "So then something better than an Anti-Gravity device. Something better than a vehicle that can land on Jupiter. It's honestly simple. Something better than what I have done in the past. Something that screams 'powerful and soul worthy.' She dealt with giving people god-like powers. She's not going to want something that's just powerful. I am sure that she could have anything she ever wanted in the world, from the sounds of what she deals offers to people who seek her out. Maybe make it harder for people to find her?" He said and sighed before leaning back and looking at the ceiling for a moment. "I am not fully sure what to do, I am not going to lie," Tony said as he got up and began to walk around, trying to think. "What would you recommend, Wong? What should I do?" He asked, looking at the man.

Wong shrugged slightly and sighed. "Try talking to The Lady. See what she wants to gain Stephen's soul back. I am sure that she is willing to come to a compromise." He suggested as he moved to rest his head into his hand, watching as Tony walked around the kitchen. With a small sigh, he got up and placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "I am sure that whatever you come up with, you will be able to convince her to give you his soul." Wong gave a small smile and patted the man's shoulder gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, let me know, do the things that you do. This isn't as long, and I am sorry.  
> To my wife Roxy: Hey, pretty little dandelion. Thank you for the story you wrote for me. I will write one for you at some point. I will break your heart. Also, I love you. Thank you for being the best.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it, please leave them sweet comments and kudos. I am enjoying writing this, and it has gone through some beta reading. I hope you all stick around for this one. More will come soon.


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